This is the 2nd of 6 embroideries that I purchased at the shop in Carson City, Nevada. This one is done on a 10 inch round of an elegant rich teal velvet that is very soft and feels like silk. Typical of the velvets used in many vintage crazy quilts I've been fortunate enough to handle, this one too has a similar cotton-like backing.
The design that was embroidered on this piece is similar to a copy of a vintage embroidery image that own. I don't know what the gold flowers are because my copy did not have a name on it. Could it be Goldenrod?
The embroidery work is done in two shades of chenille, 1 strand of a thread and a ribbon with a crimped look. The thread used for the background stems and leaves appears to be a very thin twisted pearl cotton. The "flowers" were done in a lighter golden colored chenille while the leaves on the left and across the bottom were done in a darker gold chenille with a long and short stitch.
I'm not sure you can see it, but at the very top of the design there is one broken thread in the chenille. It won't be difficult to fix. All the lighter colored gold stitches are french knots and one has come loose. The back of this piece, by the way, has nothing on it to secure the thread ends like the back of Vintage Embroidery #1 has.
The clover or thistle-like flowers were stitched in what, from the back, appears to be 3 different colors of a pink ribbon that has a crimped look to it. On the back you can see the original colors and the bottom of each flower was actually done in bright fuschia pink, but the front of this piece has faded. I'm very curious about this stitching ribbon and have taken a close up that you can see in my Flickr pictures if you click on this post's picture. If you have a clue as to what this ribbon is, please leave a comment here on my blog.
UPDATE 9/16: A friend with more knowledge of vintage pieces than I have says she believes that this stitching ribbon is "silk grosgrain". She also says that Mokuba Ribbon company currently makes a similar ribbon but it is rayon. Sounds fine to me; now I just need to find some! Anyone ever seen this. I don't ever think of Mokuba since they stopped selling the silk ribbon here in our Michael's stores.
I think perhaps this embroidery was stretched and framed or may have been a small pillow. You can see the stitching line in the photo and on the back there appears to be remnants of what looks like a dried glue-like substance in many places but especially around the edge.
UPDATE 9/16: The same friend suggests that this piece may have been put into an embroidery hoop for wall display maybe in the 1970's when doing that was popular. That would explain the glue residue on the edges.
Again with this piece I think it could handle being the centerpiece of a crazyquilted item all by it's self; maybe a wallhanging or pillow. More and more though I'm thinking, after I have studied them all really well, that I might try to find a layout that would showcase them all together.
Because the Realtors are having an open house here tomorrow, my day has been spent cleaning and clearing projects off the table in my slimmed down studio. We are going to take a trip to the closest IKEA store to dream about new furniture for new rooms in a new house!
After that I look forward to getting back to stitching on the crazy quilt pillow I started last month, but first I think I have to finish the Halloween pillowcases I started for the grandkids.
Stitch On!
1 comment:
That's a gorgeous piece of embroidery.
Have you found a new house? Or are you waiting to sell your house before you find a new one?
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